# God I Love My Wife!



## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

My wife and I were at Costco last week and she called me over to show me a mini fridge for my youngest son for when he heads off to college this fall. That was the wrong thing to do. When I rounded the corner, there she was, the most beautiful 52 bottle Vinotemp sitting on a cart just begging me to take her home. It was Costco's display unit on clearance for $300.00. I told my wife that I had been researching wine-coolers and was thinking of getting one. I also informed her that this was one hell of a deal (steal).

Then it was my turn to beg to take it home. My wife, knowing that we really don't have the extra cash, still told me to go ahead if I wanted it. What was that? I can get it? Oh great, What to do? Do I really need it? Well yah, I'm running out of room. Where am I going to put it in my hobby room? Should I? Shouldn't I? We really shouldn't go into more debt. Oh, what to do? Damn, I hate these kinds of decisions.

"Honey, you better hurry up and make up your mind, the frozen goods are starting to thaw!" I grabbed the cart and proceeded to the registers.










Now being the display unit, it had its faults. The power cord was freyed where it entered the back of the Vino and the ground prong on the plug was bent. There was also some small scratches on the top. Not a deal breaker. There would be more scratches added when bringing it into the house.










The first thing I did was to replace the power cord with one I had laying around. Then I thought that the color was close to my Birchwood Casey AR 15 scratch paint pen. So I touched up the scratches with the pen.










This past week was a busy one. I ordered 2 lbs of 65% Heartfelt beads and bought a couple of Oust fans off of Ebay. They arrived late in the week. I read every page of Vino 101. I also commissioned Ed (waxingmoon) to make up spanish cedar trays to replace the wire racks.

The bottom two shelves are short shelves to accommodate a hump in the back. The drain is on the top of the hump, recessed in a drip trough.










I plugged the drain with electrical tape and covered it with a 1/2 lb. of beads.



















The light is on the weak side and is useless. I may tap into it as a source of power if I have to go to computer fans for more circulation.










This was my helper who was there for all aspects of this project thus far.










This week will be one of cleaning out my hobby room to make room for my new baby. More to come......MM


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## Rookee (Aug 5, 2009)

Very nice unit, awesome score!!! Have fun setting it up and filling it.


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## LincolnSmokes (Nov 5, 2009)

Nice grab Dan, I've been thinking and trying to convince as well. Keep us posted on this one. Sounds like she's gonna look awesome when you're done with her!


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## Cigolle (Feb 4, 2010)

Awesome grab. Maybe I should start making the local trips to Sam's Club.


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## socapots (Feb 22, 2010)

Very cool man.
I like the gauge on the middle shelf.
Is that for Humidity and Temp?


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## bigd618 (Dec 10, 2009)

Very nice! I've gotta find me one of those women.


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## obleedo (Feb 4, 2010)

Awesome buy!!! Gotta love when the ladies support your habbits/addictions  Now its my turn to get a vino-temp!


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## southoz (Sep 13, 2009)

excellent buy Dan!!, can't wait to see it when its full.


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## Jack Straw (Nov 20, 2008)

Why didn't you get the big one?


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## jaydub13 (Jan 13, 2010)

Nice pickup! Congrats, and that was very cool of your wife.


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## CheapHumidors (Aug 30, 2007)

Nice! Good of the wife to let you indulge a bit without complaint or judgment


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## pointbreak (Feb 8, 2010)

Awsome deal a few scratches dont hurt anything,and looks like the cat likes it too,Good Wives are hard to find KEEP HER!!! Cheers P.B.


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

Congrats, Dan! 52 bottle for three bills? That's awesome!


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## J0eybb (Feb 26, 2010)

SCORE


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## KINGLISH (Jul 27, 2009)

Sweet!! I need one bad! Good job!


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

Nice pickup, looking forward to seeing it filled. :tu


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

socapots said:


> Very cool man.
> I like the gauge on the middle shelf.
> Is that for Humidity and Temp?


That's the Vino's control panel. I put a Western Caliber III on the shelf above the control panel shelf. It's mounted on the face so it can be viewed through the door.



Jack Straw said:


> Why didn't you get the big one?


That was the only one they had. Had they a bigger one at a similar deal, who knows. I'll probably keep my 300 count humi in case I run out of room.



Herf N Turf said:


> Congrats, Dan! 52 bottle for three bills? That's awesome!


It was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. It pays to do ones research!

UPDATE:

Thanks for the congrats everyone. Ed told me he won't be able to start on the trays until around the 15th of this month. I also need to find something to hold the beads in for the SC trays. I'm thinking plastic trays or boxes of some sort. And of course I have to finish cleaning the hobby room. More to come....MM


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

Well I got my hobby room (mostly) cleaned up and put the Vino in its final resting place.










I covered the racks with strips of SC and placed 3 small trays in it. I placed 1 1/4 lbs of beads and a small dish of distilled water in it, then fired her up.

I have another lb of beads to go in it when I pick up some 20 rnd 308 ammo boxes (lids) to hold them in.

For now it sits for seasoning.

More to come.....MM


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## jaydub13 (Jan 13, 2010)

Nice setup! Congrats!


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## pointbreak (Feb 8, 2010)

MrMayorga said:


> Well I got my hobby room (mostly) cleaned up and put the Vino in its final resting place.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Beautiful. looks great nice job,can i borrow a dvd lol.Cheers P.B.


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

pointbreak said:


> can i borrow a dvd lol.Cheers P.B.


Sure, but I don't have many. That's my music collection.


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## 41 ChevHead (Jan 9, 2010)

Perfect Idea !! very cool !!


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## brunoslee (Mar 3, 2010)

awesome!!! 3 humis! best to hide more cigars!!!


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

MrMayorga said:


> I also need to find something to hold the beads in for the SC trays. I'm thinking plastic trays or boxes of some sort.


Dan,

I've been using these with great success. I just cut the tops off and fill each section with beads. The dividers keep the beads from jostling around and one spritz into each section charges them nicely. Since they're plastic, even if I hit them with too much spray, there's no danger of losing the salts.










Best part is, I can find these at the Dollar Store, for well... a dollar!


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

Don

Do you happen to know the approx. capacity (in weight) of these pill holders?


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

MrMayorga said:


> Don
> 
> Do you happen to know the approx. capacity (in weight) of these pill holders?


'bout 2-3oz. I use more, in more places. I'm a big believer in broad distribution of media.


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## Cisco Kid H2 (Jan 15, 2009)

Sweet find. Now lets get it filled up.


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

Alrighty time for another update.

I picked up some bullet boxes and filled the lids with beads. At 1 1/4" of bead depth, each lid holds around 3 1/2 ozs of beads.



















Last Thurs my custom trays arrived from Ed (waxingmoon). Man, did he do a beautiful job on them!










I had him permanently divide them in half and thirds.










I pulled the drawers out and took out the wire racks.



















I then placed the trays into each drawer. The fit was perfect with a slight interference (tight) fit. I did make one blunder though. I assumed that all the drawers were the same size. *WRONG!* The center drawer with the VT controls is about 3/8ths of an inch shorter. Now I have to either modify or replace one tray. I know! *NEVER ASSUME!*



















I placed the rest of the beads in the trays and closed her up to let the trays season. I did place my boxes I had in my coolerdor in the bottom drawer. I'm figuring next weekend will be the time to transfer the rest of my cigars over from the cooler and humi.

Only after a month my Oust fans batteries have already given up the ghost. I will replace them with new ones and see how it goes. If I have to keep replacing them then I will go the computer fan route. I checked the lights power and found that its 110 volts. I'm thinking that I may tap the power from the light and run an outlet inside. If I go that route, would it be best to use a ground fault interrupt outlet?


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## socapots (Feb 22, 2010)

i cant say how well that would really work. You may be better off plugging the whole unit into a GFI outlet.
if you are cutting into the inside wiring to put a plug you might as well just put junction box and wire it in permanently. 

just a thought.


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## alpha8a (Sep 24, 2009)

The unit and trays look great. Is the unit a dual zone temp unit?


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

socapots said:


> i cant say how well that would really work. You may be better off plugging the whole unit into a GFI outlet.
> if you are cutting into the inside wiring to put a plug you might as well just put junction box and wire it in permanently.
> 
> just a thought.


That's what I'm planning to do.



alpha8a said:


> The unit and trays look great. Is the unit a dual zone temp unit?


Single zone.


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## pointbreak (Feb 8, 2010)

MrMayorga said:


> Alrighty time for another update.
> 
> I picked up some bullet boxes and filled the lids with beads. At 1 1/4" of bead depth, each lid holds around 3 1/2 ozs of beads.
> 
> ...


 Looking really good Big guy keep it up cant wait to see it finished!!Where did you pick up the bullet boxes ???Cheers P.B.:clap2:


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

pointbreak said:


> Looking really good Big guy keep it up cant wait to see it finished!!Where did you pick up the bullet boxes ???Cheers P.B.:clap2:


I bought them at a local gun show. They were $1.50 apiece but by time you figure in admission it would have been cheaper to get them here-----> Frankford Arsenal Slip-Top Ammo Box #209 22-250 Remington, 243 Winchester, 308 Winchester 20-Round Plastic - MidwayUSA


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## SirR (Aug 15, 2009)

I see your kitten is assessing the condition of your winodor. LOL, cute cat and nice deal


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## socapots (Feb 22, 2010)

MrMayorga said:


> That's what I'm planning to do.


Ahhh i gotcha.. 
I Read wrong the first time. haha.. probably not the last time i'll do that either. lol.


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## sunkisd69 (Apr 9, 2010)

Very nice!! Can't wait to see it full


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## bigmike7685 (Mar 19, 2008)

Thats a great score. I'm sure u will have it full in no time


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

Well Guys and Gals move in day has come. A bit late but better than never!

The tray for the control drawer needed to be modified. It was a hair to large. Ed (waxingmoon) did such a nice job on them that I hated to put that tray on the table saw. But it was necessary and quite frankly my mod turned out decent. Besides it's hidden in the back.

I also made extra dividers for the half divided trays. I cut some SC to size then glued on some cork gasket material to the sides to keep them snug. I still have to cut some more dividers for the 1/3rd divided trays.

So with that finished it was time to transfer my cigars over. This also gave me a chance to organize them.










The top drawer was reserved for my top shelf smokes.










The second drawer was for some of my left over top shelfer's and some of my fave's.










The third drawer is more of my faves.










The fourth drawer is loaded with more faves and left over singles from over the years and bombs.










The fifth drawer is reserved for my work and yard gars (cheaper smokes)










And finally the box and bundle rack.

So that's it for now. She's loaded and functional. I am still toying with the idea of adding lights and if I find that the Oust fans aren't making the grade then maybe switching over to computer fans. Time will tell.....MM


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## MattNJ (Feb 11, 2011)

beautiful


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## Veteran.V (Oct 14, 2010)

awesome!!! Love this


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## protekk (Oct 18, 2010)

That looks awesome..what a great score. Good luck with it.


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## Chilly (Apr 3, 2011)

Very Nice


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## 4pistonjosh (Nov 10, 2008)

Man im drooling. How many smokes do you think that thing holds


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## CALIFORNIA KID (Nov 21, 2010)

Thats a nice one. I really want to get one but every time I have the cash to get one I always tend to spend it on something else.


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## vtxcigar (Nov 25, 2010)

Very very nice.

Gotta love it when your wife understands and makes things easy!


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## WyldKnyght (Apr 1, 2011)

Very nice, my wife did the same for me, we are a lucky breed.....


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## RealSRS (Feb 13, 2012)

Good call on the ammo boxes. I'll be ordering those now! Love this site


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## MrMayorga (Feb 14, 2008)

Thanks everyone. The ammo boxes are working well without taking up alot of drawer space.


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